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LRO is one of the first steps in NASA’s planned returned to the moon. A brief mission overview will be provided promptly at 4 p.m. EDT by Dr. Noah Petro, a lunar geologist at Goddard. The launch is scheduled for Thursday, June 18, 5:12 p.m. EDT, from Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. and will be simulcast at the Goddard Visitor's Center. Light refreshments will be provided.

The LRO mission is critical for creating a comprehensive atlas of the moon's features and resources that will be needed as NASA designs systems for an extended human presence on the moon. LRO focuses on the selection of safe landing sites, identification of lunar resources, and studies of how the lunar radiation environment will affect humans. This mission will support future human exploration while providing a foundation for upcoming science missions.

Reporters interested in attending should contact Dewayne Washington at 301-286-0040 or 678-296-8450. The spacecraft was built and is managed by Goddard for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. It will transition to the Science Mission Directorate in 2010.